Bronislau Kaper approached the scoring of Tobruk as a large
musical block of cement backed by massive guns —just like the formidable German fortress under
assault by the Allies during WWII that inspired this
rousing action picture. His primary theme is weighted
by a barrage of brass, eight angular notes seemingly
chiseled out of concrete and layered throughout the
entire score in blocks. Numerous other motifs play a role
but Kaper seldom strays from his main Tobruk theme, an
idea whose dominance mirrors the towering objective
under siege by the Allies.

For this premiere presentation of the soundtrack
on CD, Intrada was generously given access to all of
the multi-track master elements recorded at Universal
Picture’s scoring stage in February of 1967 under the
supervision of Joseph Gershenson. The ½” 15 i.p.s. threetrack
stereo session masters were vaulted in magnificent condition, allowing us to create brand new
two-track stereo mixes of every cue. The results are vibrant and robust. As is our customary policy,
we have not attempted to apply any of the various “noise reduction” programs in use today to
address any of the original analog tape hiss. No matter how good this artificial audio processing
may be, it always removes something from the ambience of the actual recording and seemingly
squeezes the life out of the recordings themselves, even when applied sparingly. Basically, we
find little reason to try and make tapes nearly a half-century old sound like contemporary digital recordings —especially when they are as crisp and dynamic and in such good condition as these
masters were. It is truly a cause for celebration when we can reach back nearly fifty years and find
master elements in perfect shape, their contents complete and properly identified and just waiting
for our attention. We were happy to oblige.

We have presented the complete score in the original slated sequence of the picture. While
it is relatively brief by current standards, the producers of the film gained extra mileage by editing and
re-tracking certain cues multiple times throughout the
picture. For example, a long portion of “Head Hunters”
is used early in the film, following the “Frognapped”
sequence that opens the drama. However, it is heard
again in the film where it was intended, following
“Exit Portman” when the Allied caravan posing as a
German troop transport with prisoners is shadowed by
real German adversaries unaware of the ruse. Another
example occurs with “Rendezvous,” which actually
plays as intended after the tracked version of “Head
Hunters” during the opening. It is later edited and
tracked into a sequence right before “Night Camp.” We
have, of course, not made any attempts to mirror these
often jarring post-production edits and repetitions and are presenting every cue in complete form,
in the sequence it was designed for.

One final note. Bronislau Kaper was a genuine composer from an era when finishing a score
at the end of a film with a concluding piece of music was as customary as having an author write
a final chapter to his story before its publication—a creative and artistic talent sorely absent with
today’s film making. For Tobruk, the composer supplied three such endings and all of them appear
at the conclusion of the film. In explanation: Kaper finishes the score proper with a triumphant
statement of his main theme (“End Title”), then follows with a brief summary of the score (“End
Cast”). But in those days, Universal often added an “Emblem” at the very end of prints, inviting
Southern California tourists to visit Universal Studios. For this ultimate coda, Kaper adds yet one
more conclusive statement of his main theme, wrapping everything up with a single declamatory farewell to his eight-note idea, now built entirely out of major chords. It’s a spectacular finish for a
composer writing near the end of his own legendary career.

So sit back and let composer Bronislau Kaper, conductor Joseph Gershenson and the Universal
Pictures orchestra win the epic battle of Tobruk… all for your listening pleasure!

—Douglass Fake

Composed by Bronislau Kaper and Conducted by Joseph Gershenson.Recorded in February 1967, at Universal Pictures Scoring Stage.